“A shipwrecked mariner, tossed on a lone island, rich with food, and shelter, and material for raiment, may ‘own’ that little world—for a time. His rights are supreme. He has a ‘vested interest.’ He ‘discovered’ it. As a contribution to the world’s wealth he had practically created that patch of dirt. It is his. But suppose the next morning another fellow from the same or some other ship is tossed on the island. Well, number one must ‘divvy.’ The social conditions have changed. ‘Right’ has a new definition—unless the first enslaves the other.
“Definitions change. Right and wrong as expressing the various social theories, are fictions established by society for its own use, and if a rule established by society for the benefit of itself cannot be modified by society for the benefit of a larger social self, one man might own all the people who might be cast on the island—even if the island became a continent.
“The Zelanians have discovered that despotism consists chiefly in a loyal observance of ancient customs, and they are giving new definitions to old terms—and then adjusting society upon the new definitions. In no country are human rights more respected, or vested interests more sacredly guarded, than in Zelania, but the outposts are extended, and no longer is the power of the few to legally wrong the many, sanctified as a sacred right.
“In Zelania it has been decreed,” said the sage Oseba, “that one man’s rights must stop where another’s begins—especially if there are several of the ‘others.’ In Zelania it has been decreed that the interests of ‘all of us’ are paramount to the interests of ‘a few of us,’ and, though the rights of no man must be infringed, the equal rights of the many must not be withheld.
“Man is a social being, and how much of his rights—as defined by himself—he may be called upon to yield for the happiness of many—as defined by themselves—has nowhere been determined.
“In Zelania, my children, the people have ideas, and the people rule. In Zelania the people may ask the lucky fellow who first struck the lonely island to ‘set up a price.’ They may ask that he who toils shall enjoy, that the size of a paddock be decreased, that the distance between drinks be increased, and, in Zelania, the statesmen with fidelity carry out the will of the people as expressed under the rules prescribed.
“Now, my children, I have dwelt with some detail on the land system of Zelania, for of all nations on the surface of Oliffa, the Zelanians are gradually adjusting themselves most wisely to the permanent happiness of the people—and we may desire to send thither a ‘colony.’
“Zelania is a lovely land, my children, and, were there no principle involved, I would like to own it myself; but, alas! no ‘principle’ should be violated for so transient a pleasure.”
Maori Woman and Child. Fashionably tattooed lip.